In the art there are a number of known smoke detectors which are able to sound an alarm should it detect smoke. One of the main problems with the smoke detectors in the art is that they are very bulky. The bulkiness arises due to the fact that in order to achieve a cheap construction with a certain reliability it is necessary to provide a rather large smoke detection chamber. A rather large smoke detection chamber requires for those types of smoke detectors which rely on optical detection that the light source is rather intensive in order to be able to beam the light beam from the light emitting device, the light being deflected off the smoke particles to the light detector. This in return requires a rather bulky battery. Most smoke detectors of this type therefore require that the battery is exchanged every year or so. Often the battery exchange is not carried out and the electronic circuitry in the smoke alarm will register low voltage and will then emit a very loud (and annoying) sound signal indicating that the battery is not up to the required power level. Instead of replacing the battery many users demount the smoke detector altogether and remove the battery in order to avoid the annoying sound signal. Of course, the intention is to replace the battery at some future point in time and remount the smoke alarm but experience indicates clearly that in many cases the smoke alarms are never reinstalled properly.
The relatively bulky dimensions of the known smoke alarms furthermore make them undesirable within most homes in that their design very seldom add to the interior decoration scheme.